Schwarzenegger begins out-of-state fundraising journey

Bakersfield Californian ^ | 5/20/05 | Brendan Farrington - AP

[NormsRevenge]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has embarked on a multistate fundraising swing to raise some of the estimated $50 million his advisers say he'll need to wage an all-but-certain special election campaign.

Schwarzenegger arrives in Tampa on Friday before schmoozing with Gov. Jeb Bush and deep-pocket donors Saturday at a lunch in Miami. He then heads to Illinois and Texas, where he ends with a cocktail and dinner party Monday night in Dallas.

The trip comes at a critical time in California and for the Republican governor.

Democrats and the state's powerful labor unions are attacking his budget plans and his threat to call a special election in the fall, criticism that has contributed to a recent sag in the governor's popularity.

Schwarzenegger's fundraising blitz seems to be an acknowledgment that the money to bankroll his "Year of Reform" initiatives is not forthcoming in California, political strategist Garry South said.

"His going out of state to raise money is a clear admission of defeat," said South, a Democrat and top adviser to former Gov. Gray Davis, who Schwarzenegger replaced in the state's 2003 recall election. "He's running around in red states raising millions of dollars to foist a red state agenda on a state that is as blue as the sky."

Schwarzenegger fundraiser Marty Wilson said Schwarzenegger was having no trouble raising money at home. He said the purpose of the three-state trip is to meet with Republicans and business leaders interested in his political agenda.

"The governor has a strong following outside California as well as inside California. It's wishful thinking on the part of our opponents to say otherwise," Wilson said.

Schwarzenegger has proposed three ballot measures to put before voters in a November election that is estimated to cost taxpayers $70 million to $80 million: He wants to cap state spending; institute a longer probation period for new teachers; and have retired judges rather than lawmakers draw legislative boundaries.

The redistricting measure is Schwarzenegger's attempt to make elections more competitive in a state where both houses of the Legislature are controlled by Democrats.

Wilson said Schwarzenegger's ballot measures - particularly redistricting and the budget controls - are of interest in other parts of the country.

A special election also would include a number of other initiatives, including one intended to reduce the amount of union dues that could be used for political purposes. That measure has angered Democrats, who look to unions for much of their campaign funding.

Democrats also have been critical of the governor's record fundraising pace, saying he should be working with them in the Capitol instead of raising money in preparation for a contentious and costly election.

In Florida, Schwarzenegger's trip is having political ripples of its own.

Gov. Bush, who wants to make it harder for Floridians to change laws through ballot initiatives, is helping the California governor raise money to put several items on the ballot there.

Bush has frequently criticized ballot measures in Florida that have forced lawmakers to limit class sizes, protect pregnant pigs and, until it was repealed, plan high-speed train lines across the state.

"The irony here almost makes your head spin," said Damien Filer, who worked to get the class size amendment Bush fought on the ballot. "Irony isn't the word. Hypocrisy is the word."

Bush said he didn't know anything about the California initiatives, but rather that he wanted to support Schwarzenegger.

"There is nothing ironic about my support for Arnold Schwarzenegger," Bush said. "I know he has very difficult challenges in a state that is critical to our country. If California does not get out of its morass, it makes it difficult for our country."

Even a group that supports Schwarzenegger's attempt to take the politics out of redistricting doesn't support the idea of using out-of-state-money to accomplish the goal.

"The initiative process in California should belong to the people," said Ned Wigglesworth, an analyst for TheRestofUs.org, a nonprofit watchdog organization. "When you have a process in which money can play such a large role and people are able to give $25,000 each to influence that process, the results that you're going to get are going to be skewered toward the people who are able to give 25,000 bucks, which is just a tiny, tiny fraction of voters."

One of Schwarzenegger's political advisers, Todd Harris, said California politics have an effect on the rest of the country, so it makes sense for non-Californians to be concerned.

"California tends to export its politics to the rest of the nation, both for better and for worse," said Harris, who also worked for Bush's re-election campaign. "Gov. Schwarzenegger is in a pitched battle with the Legislature in Sacramento and it is not only in the interest of every Californian that he succeed, but in the interest of every reform-minded American as well."